My dog wears shoes

Zoe is part border collie, part shar-pei, and part bull terrier. I was told by the service dog organization that they were going to find a dog to train for me and asked me if I wanted to be part of picking one out. We met at the animal shelter, and began our search. We looked for about an hour and a half, and after interacting with several dogs, we had not found one that we felt was right. As we were leaving, one of the volunteers said they had a puppy that was brought back to them by a so called service dog trainer that said she was not right for their program.

I asked to see her and they brought her out. We could tell that her spirit had been broken, and she was very afraid. I asked my wife and the volunteer to help me out of my wheelchair to the floor, and to leave us alone. Everyone left the room, and I pulled out my cell phone and ignored her. After about 10 minutes she began to ease over closer to me. She slowly eased up between my legs and eventually laid her head on my leg. I slowly reached down and started to rub her nose. I then moved my hand to the top of her head and continued to scratch her head.

After about 25-30 minutes, she let me pick her up. As I got her up to my shoulder area she laid her head down, let out a sigh, and fell asleep. We took her home. She stayed with us for about 3 weeks and then the organization came to get her to begin her training. We would visit her several days per week, because I had to go through some of the training as well. After 1 year of training, she graduated the program, earned her vest, (not bought on the internet) and is now a certified service dog. She is now PTSD certified. She now goes everywhere I do. In fact she gets upset if we leave her at home, or if someone separates the 2 of us for any length of time. I think we both have separation anxiety.

She has made life so much easier for someone who was not able to go places and function on a normal basis. She knows when I am going to trigger, and she get’s my mind off the problem so that I have time to calm down. She knows when to get me away from crowds, and when to get my wife’s attention to get me the help I need. She wakes me up slowly during the night when I have nightmares and flashbacks, she will also wake my wife to let her know I am having issues. It is amazing how she knows I am having triggers before I know.

She is the 3rd service dog that we have gotten from the shelter. Megan was a black lab, she passed away at 13, then we got Gus. Gus is 1/2 French bulldog, 1/2 Pit. He is 9, and retired. He still lives with us, and has become my wife’s 90 pound lap dog. All 3 of my service dogs again have been rescues, and have been 3 of the best dogs we have ever had. We have had dogs that we got from pet shops, dogs from breeders, but the 3 rescues almost act like they have something to prove, and they have. In fact I wrote a children’s book about service dogs, and Zoe is the star of the book. It’s title is “My dog wears shoes.”

So if you are thinking about a new pet, I would strongly recommend getting a rescue.